His Favorite Christmas Story
by jaydream
Summary: *He never got her name before they'd said goodbye...* AU Jibbs. Oneshot songfic.


**This is an AU story about Jen and Gibbs based on the song **_His Favorite Christmas Story _**by Capital Lights. Again. AU! Enjoy :D**

**Title: **_His Favorite Christmas Story  
_**Summary: **_He never got her name before they'd said goodbye...  
_**Rating: **_K+  
_**Characters: **_Abby, Gibbs, Jen, Tony, Fornell, McGee, and Kate.  
_**Pairs: **_Jibbs and McNozzo hint  
_**Notes: **_AU. In case you didn't get that yet. And I hope all of you reading can understand symbolism differences between what is written and what is actually in the song since I cannot change the lyrics. I only struggled with the end lyrics and the year the song presents._

* * *

If there was one thing Leroy Jethro Gibbs hated was cold and snow. Cold alone was bad enough, but if the weather mixed the cold with either rain or snow, forget it. He couldn't wait to get out of the country away from the cold and the snow. He couldn't wait to be stationed and start his military training. He just couldn't wait.

It was Christmas Eve, the year was 1976, and he was preparing to deploy in two days time. He wanted to get all of his energy out before he could get down to serious business. So at about ten at night, Jethro grabbed two of his soon-to-be Navy buddies and headed down to the local town bar. He figured that if he was going to cut loose tonight, he may as well drink a little, too. Lucky for him he was twenty.

His first buddy, Anthony D. DiNozzo headed up to the bar first. He was only eighteen and already had a high sex drive on him. Jethro didn't know what he'd do about that while in the Navy. Sure, there'd probably be a couple of female nurses, but those women were solely focused on their work. Not the hundreds of men aboard. Being older than Tony, Jethro knew that he'd have to watch the kid's back while on the ship. And he was going to do just that.

Jethro watched Tony and his other Navy buddy, Tobias Fornell head up to the bar together and shook his head. He wasn't _that_ eager to cut loose. Albeit, Tony was young, so his focus at this point was crazy. However, he knew that Tobias being about two years older than him should know a little bit better. Then again, Jethro knew Tobias all too well. If there was a drink, he'd have it. Secretly, he hoped that this would cut loose in the future and Tobias and Tony would eventually mature and man up. He hoped.

Taking a seat at a table, he watched some couples dance to some slow, soft Christmas music. He let his eyes wander over to the tables surrounding him. That's when he noticed something that very much caught his eye.

Sitting a table away from him was a woman who looked no more than twenty herself alone. She had long, luscious red hair that was lightly curled around in ringlets at the ends over her shoulders. She was wearing a short sleeved red dress that went to her knees. The skirt looked like if she spun, it would fray out with her movements. The top of the dress had a collar sort of like the Navy nurses had on their outfits and pockets on either side above her breasts. A bow was tied at her hip that was attached to the dress. On her feet she wore small black high heeled shoes. Her earrings were small pearls and her necklace matched it. She has blazing grey-green eyes and she sported bright red lipstick that pulled the entire outfit together. Jethro thought that he was in love almost instantly.

_He met her up in Delaware in 1937  
She was wearing red lipstick to match her pretty dress_

Braving himself, he went over to the table. She looked up at him with those eyes and he thought that for sure his knees were going to go.

"Hi. Need some company?"

She smiled and it was just as beautiful as the rest of her. "I'd love some," she spoke with a light country accent and Jethro knew instantly that his heart was going to jump right out of his chest.

He sat down across the table from her and she leaned over on her elbows. "So what's a boy like you doing here?"

"One last chance of freedom before I head to Kuwait."

She looked at him and titled her head. "Army?"

"Marines."

She grinned. "You make a very handsome Marine man."

Jethro tried really hard not to blush just then. Men don't blush. It was the law of the universe. He nodded and smiled politely. "Thank you, Miss."

Smiling, she looked over towards the dance floor and then back at him. Jethro looked at his watch and then looked back at her. He, Tobias, and Tony had to be back at the base in an hour. And he really wanted to dance with this girl.

Feeling his heart thud in his chest as '_Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas' _started playing. The woman singing the song was practically begging Jethro to grab this beautiful redhead and dance with her. He couldn't take it anymore.

"Would you like to dance?"

She looked at him and gave a small, shy looking smile. "I would like that very much."

Standing, Jethro offered his hand to her. She took it and stood up, following him out onto the dance floor. Jethro looked up at the clock. It was quarter to eleven.

_December 24__th__ at a quarter till eleven  
Is when he finally gained the courage to ask her to dance  
It was the night before Christmas, it was love at first sight  
The carolers sang as they danced through the night_

Jethro looked at her, one hand on her waist, the other hand holding hers. "So what do you do?"

"I'm a grad student from a small suburban area not far from here."

"Smart girl."

She lightly blushed. "Thank you. And you…are a Marine boy…"

"From a very small town very far from here," Jethro smiled.

She smiled back. "Then you are a small town Marine. And I'm a shy grad girl. How does that work?"

Jethro smiled dazzlingly. "I guess I'm just lucky."

_She was a small town girl  
He was a traveling guy_

When midnight struck, Tobias came over to Jethro and told him that they needed to be back before they got into trouble. Also because Tony was so hammered out of his brain, he couldn't walk straight or talk right. Jethro gave him a nod, and slowly spun his redheaded dance partner as another song ended. She smiled up at him and he felt his heart crumble knowing that he would probably never see her again.

"I have to go."

"So soon?"

"I apologize. We have a curfew at the base and my friend…" He looked over at Tony half slung over some shy-looking young man with a laptop at a table. His redhead giggled and nodded. He looked back at her and kissed her cheek softly and politely.

"Will I see you again?"

"Maybe."

"Come on Jethro!" Tobias yelled and Jethro waved a hand at him. The redhead giggled again.

Taking her hand, he kissed it softly. "Goodnight, Miss. Merry Christmas." It was then on the road back to the base that Jethro realized that he never got her name.

_He never caught her name before they said their goodbyes_

It had been two years passed since that night. It was Christmas Eve and the men were all given a break for the night. Jethro didn't feel much like partying with the rest of his unit. He gave strict orders to Tobias to watch Tony and headed down the road to a small little diner.

He walked inside and took a booth near the back and watched the snow fall lightly outside. All he could think about was his redhead he'd met back two years ago on this same night. He mentally smacked himself everyday for not getting her name before taking off. He wondered if she thought about him the same way.

After ordering something to eat, he noticed a tall black haired waitress heading his way from the counter. Her hair was in high pigtails and she wore bright red lipstick. She had a tattoo on the side of her neck he couldn't make out and along with her waitress outfit she wore ridiculously high black platform boots. She looked friendly all the same and her bright green eyes just seemed to be shining. Jethro figured that Christmas was probably her favorite holiday or something.

"Hey," she greeted with a sweet, friendly smile. "Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all." He motioned to the empty side across from him and she sat down.

"I'm Abby," she offered her hand and Jethro took it.

"Nice to meet you. Jethro Gibbs."

Abby smiled and crossed her arms on the table. "Gibbs. I like it. It's got a great strong personality to it. Are you Navy?"

"Yes I am."

She smiled. "So what're you doing here all alone on Christmas Eve?"

"Didn't feel like partying with the rest of my unit. I wanted to mellow down tonight after the week."

"Makes sense. I love Christmas. I usually spend it with my parents and brother but they're away this year. So I'm staying with a friend in town."

Jethro smiled. "That's nice."

Abby leaned her head on her hand. "Would you mind doing me a favor?"

Jethro looked back up at her. "Sure."

"Do you have a Christmas story you could share with me? It'd get me through the rest of the night."

Giving a soft laugh, Jethro set his coffee cup down. "You sure aren't shy are you?"

"No, Sir," she grinned.

_A couple years later he was out on the road  
Having Christmas dinner in a diner alone  
When he saw a young waitress with a gleam in her eye  
Her favorite day of the year she showed her spirits were high  
She said "Sir could you shed a little holiday cheer?"  
A simple Christmas story was all she wanted to hear_

After a minute of thinking he looked at her. "Okay. I have one for you."

Abby grinned and her eyes gleamed again. "Good."

Smiling, Jethro was more than ready and prepared with something that he was sure would keep Abby on her toes. "Okay. This is my favorite story. My favorite Christmas story. It's about a girl with no name."

_He looked prepared with a smile as he started to say  
"Here's my favorite Christmas story about a girl with no name"_

Jethro told Abby the story of his redheaded dance partner with feeling and elaboration. Abby was enjoying herself thoroughly and he saw it.

_He said "I met her up in Delaware in 1937  
She was wearing red lipstick to match her pretty dress  
December 24__th__ at a quarter till eleven is when I finally gained the courage  
To ask her to dance"_

Every year since that night in the diner, Jethro told everyone he met in every country, town, city, state, or otherwise the story about his redheaded dance partner that he never got the name of. And every time he told it, there was a crowd just eager and enthralled to listen to it.

_Every holiday season as he traveled he'd tell  
About his Christmas dance partner that he never knew well  
He'd share his favorite story with the locals he met_

At some point, Jethro had earned the nickname "The Story Telling Marine." He didn't mind it a bit as he was known for everything from his time in the service to the story. It just made him that much more known.

_He was called the Christmas story telling traveling man_

After years of service, when Jethro turned 50, he retired from the Navy and joined NCIS. It took only a few years for him to get his own team which included his Navy buddy, Tony, a brunette named Kate Todd who had served on AirForce One, a MIT graduate named Timothy McGee (who oddly enough looked similar to the young man Tony had hung drunk on years ago), and much to his surprise and delight, Abby. The waitress from the diner years ago. She had went on to college and earned her degrees in Forensics and was now his lab tech girl.

He still didn't stop telling his story about his long ago dance partner and about his Navy service. Everyone in the DC area came around to listen. Adults, kids, everyone. When he had the time, he would tell it. Even his team, who he secretly called his own kids, knew it by heart after hearing it so often. They could tell it themselves.

_By age 53 he had done settled down  
All the neighborhood kids liked to gather around  
Just to listen to his stories about his life on the road  
All he had now were these children he told_

Every Christmas Eve he would tell his team the story. Then he would tell some of the locals. They always came before dark to hear it. And even though they all knew it by heart, there was nothing like hearing it from Jethro Gibbs himself. Everyone could quote it word for word. He never changed a thing. It was his favorite Christmas story and always would be.

_And every Christmas Eve they showed up before dark  
He'd tell them all the story but they knew it by heart  
They could quote it word for word, he always told it the same  
It was his favorite Christmas story called  
The Girl With No Name_

_He said "I met her up in Delaware in 1937  
She was wearing red lipstick to match her pretty dress  
December 24__th__ at a quarter till eleven is when I finally gained the courage  
To ask her to dance"_

Ten years later, during a case Jethro had gotten a shot straight to the chest. It punctured his heart and the doctors weren't sure that they could fix it. He had been in the hospital for two days already just barely making it through.

It was Christmas morning when the doctors told him and his team that they were going to try to repair the hole that had since grew. His team were beside themselves, and Jethro knew that if he didn't make it, they'd have nobody left. He hadn't even been able to get back to NCIS to meet the new head Director. He told Tony to bring her to him.

Ten o' clock rolled around and Jethro was feeling like he wasn't sure that he would make it through the surgery. He'd watched his team grow up, meet someone, marry and have kids themselves. He felt as though that he didn't really have anybody left.

A knock on the door turned his attention away from his thoughts. He looked to see a redheaded woman standing at the door in a black suit outfit. Underneath her jacket was a bright green shirt. She had a necklace on that matched and her hair was cut short and spiked all around. She looked to have beautiful eyes and there was something awfully familiar about them.

"Hello."

Jethro gave a small wave. "Hi."

She walked over to him and sat down. "I'm Director Shepard."

He held his hand out to her. "Special Agent Gibbs."

She took his hand into her own and shook it and Jethro swore he felt something familiar about the way their hands touched. He looked into her eyes and felt his breathe catch.

"Director. Could you do something for me?"

She looked at him. "What would that be?"

"It's Christmas. I don't want to talk business before I got into an operation I may not come out of. Could you do something Christmas-y for me?"

Smiling sweetly with such familiarity that sparked Jethro's mind, she nodded. "Of course I will."

_Twenty years later as he took his last breath  
It was on a cold Christmas morning on a hospital bed  
The children were grown, he had nobody left  
Except the little old nurse who was holding his hand  
He said "Ma'am can you share a little holiday cheer?"  
A simple Christmas story was all he wanted to hear_

"I'll tell you my favorite Christmas story," Director Shepard took his hand. "December of 1976 I met a young man at a Delaware bar. He was going into the Navy and was deploying soon. He was there with some friends. When he asked me to dance, I couldn't say no. He took my hand and led me to the dance floor and we danced to _Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas_."

Jethro felt his throat catch and eyes water up. He looked at her and knew that this was his redheaded dance partner. "It's you."

She looked at him. "Excuse me?"

"That young man…that was me, Miss."

Blinking, she felt her eyes water up, too. "My Marine dance partner."

He nodded slowly. "Yeah."

_But his eyes filled with tears at the words that she spoke  
Because his favorite Christmas story was the one that she told_

"Thank you," she smiled through her tears. "Thank you for dancing with me."

Jethro looked at her. "I never got your name that night."

"Jen. Jenny Shepard."

Smiling, Jethro reached up and stroked her cheek. "Jethro Gibbs."

_She said "I met him up in Delaware in 1937  
Though I never caught his name he was a traveling man  
December 24__th__ at a quarter till eleven  
I'm so glad he got the courage to ask me to dance"_

**End**

* * *

**Jay**


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